Woven Observatory: Suit Garden

About Woven Observatory: Suit Garden

Woven Observatory: Suit Garden is a solo card game set in a miniature shadow theatre, a lacquered box no wider than a table, where a lantern burns behind a paper screen and every player is a puppet on a rod. Twelve puppet cards hang on the black stage in six columns that part like curtains, three, two, one, one, two and three deep, and four clay pots stand on the apron for the four shadow suits: birds, roses, butterflies and leaves.

Plant a card by playing the nearest card of a column, a card from one of the two hooks, or the top card on the rod rack. Each pot takes its suit in order, from the one up to the seven, and on the screen above, the shadow garden grows a little with every card: a stem, then leaves, then the flower or the bird itself. The puppet box holds the other sixteen cards: turn one onto the rod rack when nothing else can be planted, and when the box is empty the rack can be put back into it twice. Clearing a column turns the worth of the four suits one step round. The deal is won when every pot is in flower.

Every card you plant in a run adds to the open scene: 6 points, then 12, then 18, up to 48 a card, and a pot coming into flower adds 40. Close the curtain, always allowed, and the scene is fixed in your score. Or play on, and turn a card from the puppet box while a scene is open: if its rank is the rank of a puppet already standing open in the columns, two puppets of one role are on stage at once and the open scene falls apart. The House readout counts how many of the cards in the box would make a double.

Before your first run, and each time a pot comes into flower, the company steps forward: three puppets are offered from a tiny company of seven, and you cast one or pass. The crane, the paper dragon, the understudy, the fan dancer, the drummer, the moon mask and the gong each change how a scene is scored, and up to four stay cast for the deal. Score only: nothing is staked. Every deal is checked by a solving player before you see it, and the theatre saves where you leave it, in this browser only.

How to play

Plant a card by tapping the nearest card of a column, a hook card or the top card on the rod rack, or by dragging it to its pot. Each pot takes its suit in order, from the one to the seven.
Every card planted in a run adds to the open scene: 6 points, then 12, then 18, up to 48 a card, and a pot in flower adds 40. Press Curtain (or B) to fix it in your score.
Turning a card from the puppet box with a scene open is the risk: if its rank matches a puppet standing open in the columns, it is a double and the open scene is lost. The House readout shows the chance.
Before the first run and each time a pot comes into flower, cast one of three puppets or pass: tap a card, or press 1 to 3, and 4 to pass. Up to four stay cast and change how scenes are scored.
Keep a card aside on a hook. When the puppet box is empty the rack can be put back into it twice. Press H for a hint and U to undo.

Controls

Tap a card, or drag it to its pot — plant it
The Curtain button, B or RT — fix the open scene in the score
Drag a card to a hook, or tap it and then the hook; R — keep it aside
Tap the puppet box or press E — turn a card onto the rod rack
Arrow keys or WASD, then Space or Enter; D-pad or stick, then Ⓐ — play
Undo button, U or Ⓨ — undo; Hint button, H or LB — a hint
Tap a puppet, press 1 to 3, or Ⓐ, Ⓧ or Ⓨ — cast it; 4 or Ⓑ — pass
P, Escape or Start — pause

Frequently asked questions

What is the scene?

The points of your current run that are not in your score yet. The first card planted in a run adds 6, the second 12, the third 18, up to 48 a card, and a pot in flower adds 40. Close the curtain to fix the points in your score.

What is a double?

A card turned from the puppet box, with a scene open, whose rank is the rank of a puppet standing open at the near end of a column. Two puppets of one role cannot share the stage, so the open scene falls apart.

What does the House readout count?

The cards still in the puppet box whose rank matches an open puppet, out of all the cards in the box. The box holds exactly the cards you cannot see, so the share is exact, though their order is never shown.

How does the casting work?

Before your first run, and every time a pot comes into flower, three puppets from a company of seven are offered. Cast one or pass. Up to four stay cast for the deal and stack.

Does it save my game?

Yes, in this browser only, open scene and cast included. Your unfinished deal, best scores and badges are never uploaded.